


Be Careful What You Say in Interviews

by CJ_fics



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, olicity - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-25
Updated: 2014-12-25
Packaged: 2018-03-03 10:59:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2848490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CJ_fics/pseuds/CJ_fics
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[AU] In an interview, newbie actress, Felicity Smoak makes a joke about telling Oliver Queen that she’s single and available and he could find her in Starling City. Based off an Emily Bett Rickards interview where she calls out Zac Effron.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Be Careful What You Say in Interviews

Felicity Smoak couldn’t believe that one random interview would affect her personal life this way.  
  
Here, before her (her, who just really starting out in the business, still reeling from the media attention for her web series, Life and Times of a Nerd (Girl), who just booked her first TV acting gig like five minutes ago) stood Oliver Queen (former teen heartthrob whose posters lined teenage girls’ walls for years — including hers, by the way — now a critically acclaimed actor that has starred in the top three TV shows in the last decade, and whose guest appearances on other shows always meant an increase in ratings, and who looked like the modern day version of Adonis, if Adonis was even this stacked and built and ripped — that Oliver Queen). And he was smiling at her. _Her!_  
  
"Umm… When they said you were waiting for me at the lobby, I thought it was a prank. That’s why I asked the front desk to send you up. I thought you’d be my friend, Barry. He always had the best pranks," she says nervously, "You’re not an Oliver Queen impersonator, right? Because that would be an awesome prank. The best! I mean, I should call Barry now. Or maybe you should take a photo of my reaction. Are you video-taping this? Video-taping! Such an archaic term! Most video cameras, I mean the personal video cameras, not the ones used for high definition footage or for film, are digital — which means they don’t actually have tape. No, they use digital storage devices like tiny hard disks. So, really I should have said, are you video-hard-disking this? Which you probably didn’t need to know. Right? I mean, even if you’re an Oliver Queen impersonator, you wouldn’t need to know that. So I’ll stop. Soon. Now. In three… two … one."  
  
Oliver Queen, or this Oliver Queen impersonator, looks stunned and he seemed to be holding off laughing his ass off at her babbling. She was used that reaction. She appreciated his effort not too laugh at her, to be honest.  
  
Smiling wider, he finally responds, “No, I’m Oliver Queen—”  
  
"Mr. Queen! Of course! I know you — who doesn’t know you? You’re like the hottest actor in the last ten years! Or one of them anyway. Definitely in the top ten, for sure!" she exclaims. She has a feeling that she’s hyperventilating. And that her voice sounds she’s been inhaling helium for hours!  
  
"Oliver, please," he says, extending the flowers he was holding in his hands towards her.  
  
Flowers! Why was Oliver Queen bringing her flowers? And asking her to call him by his first name? As if she would ever call him other than his full name…  
  
"Err— Barry didn’t put you up to this, right?" she asks, not reaching for the flowers.  
  
"I don’t know who Barry is. Actually, I don’t think I don’t know anyone named Barry," he responds easily, placing the flowers on the credenza near the entrance of her hotel room.  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"I saw your interview," he begins.  
  
"Which one?" She had to admit, she’s been in a few interviewers after the success of her web series. But when the announcement was made about her being cast in the highly-anticipated sci-fi detective series, Lost and Found, the media went slightly mad. Apparently, LTN(G) had enough fans to get the mainstream media’s attention. She’s gone through a lot more interviews since. She was actually here in Starling City for press junket for the LTN(G) and to meet with the producers and the confirmed cast members of the show.  
  
"The one in Madrid. You said—"  
  
"I know what I said! Shit!" she panics. And she does know what she said in that interview. She told the interviewer about having a huge crush on Oliver Queen, and when Roy Harper, one of the recurring characters in LTN(G), challenged her to address Oliver Queen, she told the camera that, if he was watching, that was she was single and lived in Starling City. And she winked! Cheesily! She can’t believe she winked!  
  
"You weren’t supposed to see that," she concedes, blushing (well, blushing more) and clearing her throat. How mortifying!  
  
"Hey," he says, sensing her mortification, "I’m really glad I did. I’m a fan of your work."  
  
"Really?!?" she exclaims in disbelief.  
  
"Yeah, I loved LTN(G) — was pretty much addicted to it, to be honest. Looked forward to Wednesdays at nine p.m. when you would release the latest episode," he confirms.  
  
"What? But you’re Oliver Queen! You don’t watch no-budget web shows about nerd stuff! I mean, how is that possible?" Felicity responds. Oliver Queen watched her web show? And was a fan? What?  
  
He laughs good-naturedly, his blue eyes ( _Gorgeous, deep blue eyes that starred in a lot of her teenage and adult fantasies_ , she thinks) sparkling, “Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I do watch ‘no-budget web shows about nerd stuff’. And love them! I loved the recurring rants against Bill Gates and sexism in video games.” Before she could speak, he adds, “And, no, I’m not an Oliver Queen impersonator. Let’s get that clear.”  
  
"Wow."  
  
"So, I was thinking, maybe you could join me for dinner tonight?" he asks, tentatively ( _Oliver Queen doesn’t do tentative, Felicity!_ she tells herself)  “I’d like to get to know you, and maybe geek out a bit—”  
  
"Is there an Oliver Queen scandal you have to avoid? Or are like facing some dip in your popularity? I mean, you’ve not had scandal in years! Not since that time when you got drunk and peed on a car. You’d think people would forgive for that by now. You were eighteen! That was ten years ago! People should really get over it. But did you, like get caught with an underage girl or something? Or with a stripper? I mean—"  
  
"No," he tries to speak up.  
  
"— your popularity is at an all time high. Didn’t you just win your fourth People’s Hottest Guy of the Year or something? And didn’t you just win a Golden Globe and an Emmy for guest-starring on Spartacus? So, why are you asking me to dinner? I’m not that popular you know! I mean, if you want to be more popular and / or hide a scandalous something, maybe you should go ask Helena Bertinelli out or something. She’s totally hot right now—"  
  
"Felicity!" he interrupts, chuckling (She thinks the sound of his chuckling is adorable. _Really cute_ ). When she stops, he continues, “No, I’m not trying to hide a scandal. There are no underage girls or strippers. And no, people are still not talking about my crazy years. And I don’t think my popularity needs any more hype. Even if it did, I don’t really care about that. What else— Oh, no, I’m not interested in asking Helena Bertinelli out to dinner, no matter how hot she is. I don’t want to get to know her. I want to get to know you.”  
  
"Oh."  
  
"You said that already," he smiles, "So, how about it? Dinner? Tonight? Do you like Italian? Everyone likes Italian, right?"  
  
"Uhhh… I can’t," she says.  
  
"Oh," he murmurs, smile gone, "I thought you said you were single. And that maybe you wanted to go out with me. My bad."  
  
He turns towards the door, intending to head out.  
  
"I am!" she announces, "It’s just that  —- You’re effing Oliver Queen! I had your posters on my wall when I was a teenager. OK, even after I was teenager! And now you’re here! And you want to have dinner! I mean — I can’t — How am I supposed to wrap my head around this?!?!"  
  
"All right, all right," he says, reaching to gently squeeze her shoulders in comfort, "I could see how this might take time. I’m going to go now, OK? I’ll leave you alone. But I’ll keep asking you out to dinner. Maybe some day, you can wrap your head around the idea. OK?"  
  
With that he gives her tiny peck on her right cheek, and leaves the room before she could say or do anything.  
  
Five minutes later, Felicity wanted to kick herself. Oliver Queen asked her out to dinner and she said ‘No’. Who does that?  
  
———————————————  
  
The next day, she arrives thirty minutes earlier than the set time for her initial meeting with the producers of Lost and Found. She’s always arrived way ahead of time for appointments, that’s just how she is. Also, this being her first real acting job, she wanted to make a good impression on everyone she was going to be working with. She wanted to appear professional, reliable, dependable and excited, which who she was, really.  
  
And she really couldn’t sit still in her hotel room any longer. Thoughts of the surreal visit from Oliver Queen was on loop in her head, mixed with absolute mortification about how she behaved and regret about not saying ‘Yes’ to his dinner invitation.  
  
The producers and the other actors that have been cast for the pilot episode started trickling in fifteen minutes after she did. Everyone was friendly, and Felicity was glad to see that one of actors who had requested to make a guest appearance on LTN(G), John Diggle, was also in the cast. She was really happy to see a familiar face.  
  
"Hey, everyone, have we got a surprise for you!" one of the show’s producers announced, "We’ve found our lead male actor. He called me last night to say that he’s taking the offer. It as such a surprise, to be honest. I thought it was a long shot, even offering him the role. I can’t believe he said ‘Yes’. I’m so excited!"  
  
"Who is it?" John asks.  
  
"Me," Oliver Queen answers from the doorway, flashing the smile that launched a thousand girls and women’s fantasies for more than a decade. He scans the room and when he spots Felicity, who was sitting there in her chair, blushing, his smile turns softer, and his eyes light up.  
  
The room breaks into excited and happy pandemonium. In the midst of it, Oliver approaches Felicity, who was the only one seated and hadn’t broken out into squeals. She was still shell-shocked, trying to process recent events.  
  
"I told you, I’m a fan of you work," he says in a low voice, leaning close to her ( _He smelled good, like leather and lemon and mint and something really, really, really masculine_ , Felicity’s freaked out mind observes), “Any closer to wrapping your head around having dinner with me?”  
  
 _Oh.My.Glob._


	2. It Just Might Change Your Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver woos Felicity. She thinks it's a joke -- there was no way the Oliver Queen was asking her out to dinner every week!

_Two weeks earlier…_  
  
"Ollie, are you online?" Thea, Oliver’s younger sister, says excitedly as soon as he answers her call.  
  
"Hello to you, too, Speedy," he greets, smiling.   
  
"Never mind that. Are you online?"  
  
"Not at the moment, no. I just finished a meeting with my manager.  There’s a new TV show being offered to me. Not sure I’ll take it though. Why?" He responds as he makes his way to the parking lot, where his Ducati is parked.   
  
"Your phone’s got data, right?" Thea insists.  
  
"Yes. What’s this about, Thea?" Oliver asks, confused as to what was so urgent.  
  
"OK. As soon as you get off this call, open the link I’m sending you. I swear, you will love me forever for this, Ollie!" Thea exclaims.  
  
"I already love you forever, Speedy," Oliver declares. At Thea’s impatient scoff, he relents, "All right, all right. I’ll hang up and then go to the link that you will send me."  
  
"Oh, and call me after you see the link!" Thea reminds him before hanging up on him.  
  
Half-sitting on his parked bike, he clicks on the link, expecting some silly cat video that Thea would want to squee about later.  
  
To his surprise, the video shows a Felicity Smoak and Roy Harper interview. Catching himself smiling at the sight of her, he shakes his head. _He maybe shouldn’t have let Thea know that he had a crush on the Life and Times of a Nerd (Girl) star._   
  
"Felicity," the off-camera interviewer says, "You got any celebrity crushes?"  
  
Felicity blushes and giggles as the Roy Harper laughs and responds for her, “Does she ever! C’mon, tell them who your celebrity crush is, Smoak!”  
  
"No!" Felicity exclaims, still blushing.  
  
"C’mon," the interviewer and Harper cajole.   
  
After a few seconds of them laughing and trying to convince as stubborn Felicity Smoak, she finally relents.  
  
"All right. Fine! Is that camera on?" she points to the camera, takes a deep breath and then smiles in an over-the-top flirtatious manner, "Oliver Queen, are you single? If you are, well, I’m single and I live in Starling City." Then she wiggles her eyebrows, winks and then promptly burst into giggles.  
  
"Did you get that?" Harper asks the interview as Felicity belly-laughs beside him, "Please tell me you caught that on film!"  
  
"So, Oliver Queen, huh?" the interviewer asks, chuckling.   
  
"I mean, who doesn’t have a crush on Oliver Queen?" a somewhat composed Felicity blushes, "It’s like if you have a pulse, you have a crush on Oliver Queen. Man. Woman. Animal. Plant. Mineral. Oh, maybe not mineral. They don’t have pulses. But you get what I mean, right?"  
  
The video ends abruptly there.  
  
Oliver smiles. _Starling City, eh?_  
  
—————————————————————————————-  
  
Two weeks later, Oliver found himself with butterflies in his stomach as he clutched a colourful bouquet of African and Tiger lilies, daisies and Malaysian mums between his clammy hands.  He couldn’t recall the last time he had been this nervous.  
  
After making calls to people he knew and finally finding an exact date and location on Felicity Smoak, he was on his way to finally meeting her in person. He checks the flowers to make sure that they were still in perfect order as he makes his way to her hotel room.  
  
What happens next is combination of the familiar and the new.  
  
Her reaction to him — shock, disbelieving, panicked, nervous, giggle-y, awed — was not something that was new to him. He was, after all, Oliver Queen. He knew that he was attractive, not just physically but also because he’s been successful in his chosen craft (so much so that he’s not touched a single cent of the trust fund his parents left for him and Thea). He wasn’t one to be falsely humble. He took pride in his success and acknowledged that his good looks was a part of the reason for it.   
  
No, her reaction, while absolutely charming, was not something that he had not experienced. In fact, he was banking on it. He knew that he would get that reaction from her, and he would use that to charm her into going out to dinner with him.   
  
What was new to him though was his reaction to her.   
  
It was quite rare for someone like him to be struck speechless by a woman’s attractiveness. His worked has allowed him to get used to working with the most beautiful women in the world. He knew as well as that Felicity Smoak was attractive — in a cute way — and that’s one of the reason why he kept anticipating the latest episodes of LTN(G) and why he would watch older episodes when he had the time. So he was braced for that.  
  
He wasn’t prepared though for how he felt as soon as she opened her hotel room door. Yes, she was more attractive in person than she was online. But, no, objectively-speaking, she wasn’t the most physically beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on — though he was hard-pressed to remember who it was that was more beautiful than her, their names escaped him at the moment. But there was something about her — her big blue eyes, her engaging smile, the dimples on her cheeks, her colourful lips, her blonde hair, the shape of her face, the words babbling out of her mouth, her voice — that just stunned him. Made him want to equally ravish her right there and then, and be her friend. To please her, not just in a physical way, but emotionally, intellectually, personally.   
  
So, instead of sticking to his original plan of aggressively getting her to go to dinner with him that very same night, he backed off. He wanted more from her than a quick tussle between the sheets (or along her hotel room walls). He wanted to get to know her, everything about her. From books, films, TV shows she liked, to her family history, to her opinions on social issues, to what her perfect breakfast was like, to what her perfect day was like, to how she sounded in the middle of an orgasm, to that one spot (or two, or three) in her body that would get her instantly wet.  
  
Then he made a call to his manager about that TV offer.  
  
————————————————————————————————  
  
"Aaaand, cut! Good job, everyone!" the director, Jean Loring, calls out as they wrap a scene.  
  
"That was amazing, guys!" _Lost and Found_ series writer and executive producer, Quentin Lance adds, getting up from his chair next to Jean to approach Oliver, Felicity and John who had just finished as scene, “Powerful work, powerful.”  
  
"Thanks!" Felicity smiles, receiving a hug from Quentin after the older man shakes Oliver’s and John’s hands.   
  
"I know we’re only on our fourth episode, but the work you have all done have been tremendous," Quentin adds.  
  
"Damn, straight," Jean, who has joined them, chimes in, "Really impressive work, guys."  
  
Smiles and hugs are exchanged all around until everyone leaves the set.  
  
"So, dinner tonight?" Oliver leans towards Felicity with a smile as he walks her back to her trailer.  
  
Felicity smiles and rolls her eyes at him.   
  
In the past three months that they have been working together, Oliver had gotten to know Felicity Smoak, and has allowed her to get to know him. Their on-set chemistry was undeniable, so much so that after their first scene together, the writing team had to adjust the story to make it so that their characters’ (Jonas and Megan) relationship was the central one in the show. The original plan as for Jonas and Dinah (played by Quentin’s daughter, Laurel) were the main couple. But screen tests showed that Laurel had more chemistry with Tommy Merlyn, who was playing the Arthur King, than she had with Oliver — and that Oliver and Felicity’s chemistry was off the charts. What that meant was Oliver and Felicity had more scenes than originally planned.  
  
Which was more than fine with Oliver.  
  
She was a joy to work with. She had a real talent for not only memorising her lines very well, but to comprehend sub-text. The result was a consistent performance that was nuanced and just … so compelling. She was the type of actress other actors dreamed of working with — supportive, clever, generous and naturally-talented. She played her character with such rawness and wit, that Oliver was sure that everyone who watched the show would immediately fall in love with her.  
  
As he had found himself falling in love with her, both Felicity and Megan.  
  
Behind their on-screen relationship, their friendship had grown as well. While she had yet to say ‘Yes’ to any of his weekly, Friday dinner invitations, and she sometimes called him by his full name still, she had allowed him to pick her up from her trailer at the start of a work day and walk her back at the end of her day as well as walk her to her car after their work was done. She had also hung out with him, sometimes to rehearse their lines together, asking him for tips on the more challenging scenes. Also, she never turned him away when he showed up at her place with take out every Friday evening. Or any other evening when he found himself outside her door with paper bags in hand.   
  
"So, take out at your place then? Chinese? Sushi? Indian?" he asks.  
  
"Sushi," she says, waving at him as she steps into her trailer.  
  
——————————————————————————————  
  
Felicity tries not to primp every time she knows Oliver Queen was on her way to her apartment. So when she finds herself reaching for her mascara, she stops herself and reaches for her lip gloss instead. It was really nothing to get excited about. Oliver Queen has been bringing her take out at least once a week ever since they started working on Lost and Found. And it’s not like he’s been nothing but a gentleman towards her whenever they spent time together. She reckons he asks her out to dinner once a week as sort of like a private joke, a call back to their first meeting.  
  
 _So, there is nothing to primp for, Felicity,_ she reminds herself.  
  
As they settle down to enjoy their sushi, Felicity reaches for the remote to put on their classic Errol Flynn Robin Hood film for the night. The two of them, they found on a similar evening spent together, were huge fans of Robin Hood. They’ve re-watched most of the Robin Hood films in existence, including a post-apocalyptic version that starred one Oliver Queen.

_It was hilarious_ , Felicity recalled, _having Oliver Queen blushing beside you as you watched on of his films._  
  
Part-way through the film as they both finished their dinner, Oliver speaks, “Are you ever going to say ‘Yes’ to my dinner invitations? I mean, this is fun and all — don’t get me wrong, I am enjoying any way I can spend time with you — but I’d really like to take you out to dinner one of these evenings.”  
  
"Huh?" was Felicity’s witty response.  
  
Oliver flashes her a mirthless smile at her, and looks down, “Never mind. Forget I said anything.”  
  
"I thought it was joke!" Felicity exclaims after she gathered her wits.  
  
"Joke? What was a joke?" Oliver says, offended.  
  
"The weekly invitations to go to dinner! I thought you were joking!"  
  
"Why would I joke about that?"  
  
"Because I made a fool out myself when you asked me to dinner the first time! I thought you were making light of it," she replies. _Was he serious about asking her out to dinner? Oliver Queen was serious about asking her out to dinner._  
  
"Will you stop referring to me by my full name?" Oliver says, exasperated.  
  
"Sorry," she says, mentally kicking herself for her lack of brain-to-mouth filter.  
  
Oliver stands up from his place beside her on the couch, “Look, I thought we were — are — friends, Felicity. And these past few months have really been great. Getting to know each other. For the record, I would never make light of you in that way. And all my dinner invitations have not been made in jest. At all. I thought you just needed time to get used to me, to get to know me. But whenever you call me by my full name, I get the feeling a part of you doesn’t quite actually believe that someone like me would possible take you seriously. Worse, I get the feeling that you will never get used to me — that I will always be that guy whose poster used to hang on your bedroom wall. And I guess there’s nothing I can do to change that.”  
  
He sighs and then walks to the front door. He turns to see her, still sitting on the couch with her mouth open, “I’m sorry that I thought I could be more than that to you, Felicity. I won’t bother you anymore.”  
  
As he opens the door, she comes to her senses and rushes to stop him with a hand on his arm.  
  
"You like me…" she says, still in disbelief.  
  
Ears red, he chuckles sadly, still turned away from her, “I more than like you, Felicity.”  
  
"I’m sorry, Oliver," she starts.  
  
Oliver nods. “It’s OK. Can’t get everyone, right?” he tries to joke.  
  
"No, I meant, I’m sorry that I didn’t know. I’m sorry that I thought your dinner invitations were a joke. No, not a joke. But that you were joking when you asked me. And that I made you feel like you’re nothing more to me the guy whose poster used to hang in my bedroom — the same poster, by the way, that's still in the back of my closet. Just so you know. I mean — We’re friends, Oliver. We are! You’ve kind of been the closest friend I’ve had since we started this show together. And that’s really been great and fun and really awesome. But I thought that was all we could be. Because you’re you and I’m me. And never in million years did it ever occur to me that you would — you know — like me back. That way. Becau—"  
  
"Like you back that way?" he interrupts, slowly facing her.  
  
"Of course, I like you! I more than like you! You’ve been the sweetest, most amazing guy and friend to me. And to top all that, you’re Oliver Queen! You—"  
  
He cups her face and plants a kiss on her lips, effectively ending her rant. She goes on her tip toes to be closer to him, closing her eyes at the thrilling sensations of Oliver’s kisses. _This guy’s lips and tongue and taste and teeth and stubble — and the combination of all those against her mouth, her face, her skin — should be illegal._  
  
With a groan, Oliver reluctantly pulls his mouth away from hers and sighs, “So, will you go out to dinner with me?”  
  
Felicity laughs, nods and then pulls him into her bedroom.  
  
—————————————————————————————————-  
  
"With the premier of the highly-anticipated sci-fi adventure series, _Lost and Found,_ just a week away, we’re joined now by two of the stars of the show: Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak. In the show, Oliver plays Jonas, a man who is trying to regain his memories, and Felicity plays Megan, the mysterious mechanic who helps Jonas. Welcome to the show, and good to see you again,” Bethany Snow announces with smile.  
  
Oliver and Felicity smile back and return her greeting enthusiastically. They go through questions about _Lost and Found_ , talking about their characters and the plot and their cast mates.  
  
Eventually, Bethany refers to the one topic that Felicity has been dreading ever since she found out that Bethany Snow was interviewing them, “So, Felicity, the last time we sat down for an interview, you made quite a memorable remark to Oliver. Do you remember that?”  
  
Felicity groans as Oliver reaches for her hand.   
  
"That’s right, you remember!" Bethany exclaims, "But for those of you who don’t, here’s the clip."  
  
As Felicity’s life-changing interview rolls, she giggles and buries her face on the back of Oliver’s shoulder.    
  
"I knew that was going to bite me in the ass someday," she murmurs as Oliver chuckles.  
  
"Wasn’t I the one biting your ass last night?" Oliver teases in a low voice.  
  
"Shush!" Felicity says, slapping his arm.  
  
"It looks to me that that interview has yielded results," Bethany says as soon as the clip ends, "Care to speak to that?"  
  
"What’s there to say about it?" Oliver shrugs, smiling at Felicity,  "As she said, she’s single, I’m single — or I was — so I found her in Starling City."  
  
"Felicity?"  
  
Felicity laughs and says, “Well, one lesson learned here, Bethany, is be careful what you say in interviews. They might change your life!”

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt fic.
> 
> Original post: http://outoftheclosetshipper.tumblr.com/post/97046424748/hi-so-theres-this-interview-with-ebr-where-she


End file.
